Mendes is married to Gracinha Leporace who regularly performs vocals for her husband and can also be heard on his 2006 version of the song Mas Que Nada with the Black Eyed Peas.
Early career
The child of a physician in Niterói, Brazil, Mendes attended the local conservatory with hopes of becoming a classical pianist. As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late-1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was taking off. Mendes played with Antônio Carlos Jobim (whom he regarded as a mentor) and many U.S. jazz musicians who toured Brazil.
Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 196. Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played Carnegie Hall. Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the name Sergio Mendes and Brasil '65 with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records.
Brasil '66
When sales were tepid, he replaced his Brazilian born vocalist Wanda de Sa with the distinctive voice of Chicago native Lani Hall (who learned Mendes' Portuguese material phonetically), switched to Herb Alpert's A&M label, and released Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66, an album that went platinum based largely on the success of the single "Mas Que Nada" (a Jorge Ben cover) and the personal support of Alpert, with whom Mendes toured regularly.
The original lineup of Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66 was Mendes (piano), vocalists Lani Hall and Janis Hansen, Bob Matthews (bass), Jose Soares (percussion), and Joao Palma (drums). John Pisano guested as guitarist. This lineup recorded three albums between 1966-1968 (including the best-selling Look Around LP), before there was a major personnel change for their fourth album Fool on the Hill.
Karen Philipp replaced Hansen as the second female vocalist, while veteran drummer Dom Um Romão teamed with Rubens Bassini to assume percussionist duties. Sebastiao Neto was the new bassist and Oscar Castro-Neves the guitarist. This lineup had a more orchestral and big band sound than their predecessors. Most significantly, in the early 1970s, lead singer Hall pursued a solo career and became Alpert's second wife. Some accounts claim that Mendes was upset with Alpert for years for "stealing" Hall away from his group.
Though his early singles with Brasil '66 (most notably "Mas Que Nada") met with some success, Mendes really burst into mainstream prominence when he performed the Oscar-nominated Burt Bacharach and Hal David song The Look of Love on the Academy Awards telecast in April 1968. Brasil '66's version of the song quickly shot into the top 10, peaking at #4, and eclipsing Dusty Springfield's version from the soundtrack of the movie, Casino Royale. Mendes spent the rest of 1968 enjoying consecutive top 10 and top 20 hits with his follow-up singles, "The Fool on the Hill" and "Scarborough Fair". From 1968 on, Mendes was arguably the biggest Brazilian star in the world, enjoying immense popularity worldwide and performing in venues as varied as stadium arenas and the White House, where he gave concerts for both Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon.
Middle career
Mendes' career in the U.S. stalled in the mid-1970s, but he remained very popular in South America and Japan. His two albums with Bell Records in 1973 and 1974, followed by several for Elektra from 1975 on, found Mendes continuing to mine the best in American pop music and post-bossa writers of his native Brazil, while forging new directions in soul with collaborators like Stevie Wonder, who wrote Mendes' R&B-inflected minor hit, "The Real Thing".
In 1983, he rejoined Alpert's A&M records and enjoyed huge success with a self-titled album and several follow-up albums, all of which received considerable adult contemporary airplay with charting singles. "Never Gonna Let You Go", featuring vocals by Joe Pizzulo and Leza Miller, equalled the success of his 1968 single "The Look of Love" by reaching #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; it also spent four weeks atop the Billboard adult contemporary chart. In 1984, Mendes worked with singer Lani Hall again.
By the time Mendes released his Grammy-winning Elektra album Brasileiro in 1992, he was the undisputed master of pop-inflected Brazilian jazz. The late-1990s lounge music revival brought retrospection and respect to Mendes' oeuvre, particularly the classic Brasil '66 albums. His stature in his native Brazil is reflected by "Cantor de Mambo", a song by fellow Brazilians Os Mutantes, which they regularly dedicate to Mendes in concert.
Later career
Timeless features a wide array of neo-soul and alternative hip hop guest artists, most prominently will.i.am and the Black Eyed Peas. It was released February 14, 2006 by Concord Records.
The album features the Black Eyed Peas, Erykah Badu, Black Thought, Chali 2na of Jurassic 5, India.Arie, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Q-Tip, Stevie Wonder and Pharoahe Monch.
The 2006 re-recorded version of "Mas que Nada" with the Black Eyed Peas had additional vocals by Gracinha Leporace (Mendes' wife); a version that is included on his album Timeless. In Brazil, the song is pretty well-known for being the theme song for the local television channel Globo's Estrelas.
The Black Eyed Peas' version also contains a sample of their 2004 hit "Hey Mama". The re-recorded song became popular on many European charts. On the UK Singles Chart, the song entered at #29 and rose to and peaked at #6 on its second week on the chart.
Official website of Sérgio Mendes: http://www.sergiomendesmusic.com
The Real Thing
Sérgio Mendes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My, it's been such a long, long time
Looking forward to feeling you
Love has been so heavy on my mind
On my mind
All the time
On my mind
To be part of your love in my dreams
But I can't be happy with
Fantasizing instead of the real thing
The real thing
Not my dreams
The real thing
There are no words
That can express the way
I feel today
'Cause I feel today
Like no other day
Longing more and more
For your loving
There are no songs
That I can sing
To ease my troubled mind
'Cause my troubled mind
Will be a troubled blue
Until you say
You're coming home to me
So let me hear you sweet baby
Let me hear you say the words
Send your love in a hurry
Send it's melody by a love bird
A love bird
Send your word
By a love bird
There are no words
That can express the way
I feel today
'Cause I feel today
Like no other day
Longing more and more
For your loving
There is no other someone
That can ease my achin' heart
'Cause my achin' heart
Told my troubled mind
The only remedy to its pain
Is your love
Let me hear you say, baby
Everything's gonna be all right
Stop my heart from achin'
Stop my eyes from cryin'
Through the night
Through the night
I won't cry
Through the night
The song The Real Thing by Sérgio Mendes is a romantic ballad that expresses longing for a lost love. The singer is looking forward to seeing and feeling his lover, who he hasn't seen in a long time. Love has been heavy on his mind, and he had a chance to be part of his lover's love in his dreams, but he cannot be happy with fantasizing instead of the real thing. He longs for the real thing in his life, not just in his dreams. The singer feels like today is different than any other day, and he longs more and more for his lover's love. He expresses his desire for his lover to come back to him and ease his troubled heart and mind. In the end, he pleads with his lover to say that everything will be all right and stop the pain he is feeling through the night.
Line by Line Meaning
Looking forward to seeing you
I can't wait to see you again
My, it's been such a long, long time
It feels like it's been forever since we spent time together
Looking forward to feeling you
I'm excited to feel your touch again
Love has been so heavy on my mind
I can't stop thinking about our love
On my mind
I can't get it out of my head
All the time
It's on my mind constantly
Had a chance to look forward
I had the opportunity to anticipate
To be part of your love in my dreams
To imagine being with you in my dreams
But I can't be happy with
But I can't be satisfied with
Fantasizing instead of the real thing
Only imagining our love instead of being with you in reality
The real thing
Being with you in person
Not my dreams
Not just my imagination
There are no words
I can't find the words
That can express the way
To describe how
I feel today
I'm feeling right now
'Cause I feel today
Because I'm feeling
Like no other day
Unlike any other day before
Longing more and more
Craving more and more
For your loving
For your love and affection
There are no songs
No song exists
That I can sing
I can't find a song
To ease my troubled mind
To calm my worried thoughts
'Cause my troubled mind
Because my worried thoughts
Will be a troubled blue
Will continue to be worried and upset
Until you say
Unless you tell me
You're coming home to me
That you're returning to me
So let me hear you sweet baby
Tell me, my love
Let me hear you say the words
Speak the words of love to me
Send your love in a hurry
Express your love to me quickly
Send it's melody by a love bird
Send a message of love by a singing bird
A love bird
A bird that symbolizes love
Send your word
Speak to me
There is no other someone
No one else
That can ease my achin' heart
That can comfort my hurting heart
'Cause my achin' heart
Because my heart is hurting
Told my troubled mind
Convinced my worried thoughts
The only remedy to its pain
That the only cure for its pain
Is your love
Is your love and affection
Let me hear you say, baby
My love, speak to me
Everything's gonna be all right
Everything will be okay
Stop my heart from achin'
Relieve my heartache
Stop my eyes from cryin'
Stop my tears from falling
Through the night
Throughout the night
I won't cry
I won't shed any tears
Through the night
Throughout the night
Contributed by Dylan L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Draper Ollison
This song is a permanent vibe. So exuberant. Terrific lyrics written by Stevie W.
Eric Longmire
Songs that express true feelings of the heart! Stevie is the master of it!
Dan Jo
I just love this song! Sergio Mendez is timeless!
NanJacks 913
Yes!
ladyg0726
Correction, Stevie Wonder.
Cedric Bigby
Stevie and Sergio along with Wonderlove and Brasil 77 should have made an album together it would of been dope!!!😎
Marty Emmons
Both Stevie Wonder and Sergio Mendes are healthy, the last I heard. There's still a chance for those two greats to produce musical magic.
george mira
have.
ladyg0726
Thank you, Steveland Morris, aka Stevie Wonder(ful)!!!! You and Prince are true prodigies, in a class by yourself.
Juan Estrada
I will always love this song......thank you to Mr Wonder for writing this song